Cargo containers of various kinds and sizes are known in the art. In many cases a given cargo container contains a plurality of separately-packed items (such as, for example, boxes that may themselves each contain a variety of commodities). A modern trailer for a semi-truck configuration serves as one common example in these regards, with such trailers often exceeding fifty feet in length.
The items that are off-loaded from such a cargo container are often initially placed in one of many available receiving and/or staging areas depending upon the contents of each such item. A truck trailer being unloaded at the loading dock for a retail shopping facility, for example, may have some of its contents placed in a first receiving area, other contents placed in a second receiving area, and so forth.
The items themselves will typically not reveal the appropriate receiving area, however. Instead, the persons unloading the cargo container must somehow be otherwise apprised of that information. By one approach a supervisor serves to make that determination for items as they are unloaded. That supervisor then verbally informs the person holding each item where to place the item in question. Such an approach can be slow and also error prone while tending to require additional personnel to properly effect.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present teachings. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present teachings. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.